Srimal and I were climbing up the stairs by the beach at Lake Erie to return to his vehicle when we met halfway two men who were tourists. They looked like they were from the middle east.
“Good morning! How are you?” I asked. It was they who were curious and who asked where we are from.
“I’m from Canada, and he (Srimala) is from here. How about you?”
They replied spontaneously, “Jordan.”
“That’s nice.” In a subtle way they indicated that the dialogue was over, as brief as it was, a